


A Road Trip Down Memory Lane

by Strength_in_pain



Series: Comforting Peter Parker because he deserves love [17]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Mentioned Ben Parker, Mentioned May Parker (Spider-Man), Peter Parker Needs A Ride, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Poor Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Road Trips, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has An Expensive Car, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Is Getting Grey Hairs, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27578705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strength_in_pain/pseuds/Strength_in_pain
Summary: Peter needs a ride home after getting himself into a mess, Tony has a fancy car. Peter gives Tony a bunch of grey hairs on their unplanned road trip. Tony doesn’t mind. He still looks good.Comfortember #Road Trip #Memory Lane #Flashbacks #Car Ride #A Little Anxiety
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Comforting Peter Parker because he deserves love [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698844
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	A Road Trip Down Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! I finally finished one of my Comfortember stories

“Hey Mr. Stark.”

Tony clutched his cellphone closer to his ear, plugging the other one with his index finger. 

“Kid? Is that you?”

“Yeah,” Peter broke off with a laugh. “You’ll never guess what just happened.”

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was preparing himself for Peter to inform him of some silly, insignificant, little thing. 

_Mr. Stark, I lost my backpack. Mr. Stark, I saved a cat. Mr. Stark, I lost my shoe._

It was a bit excessive, the amount of times the kid called, but most of the time, Tony didn’t mind. But today he was trying to focus on this boring meeting, and that naturally set him in an irritated mood.

“I don’t have time for guessing games.”

“Well, sir, here’s the thing. I’m kinda stranded in the middle of Staten Island.”

“What?!” Tony couldn’t have heard that correctly. Surely, he couldn’t have, because there was no way the kid, who was supposed to be in school, was somehow dragged across the other side of New York. “How did you get stranded?”

“Yeah, it’s a funny story,” Tony had a feeling he wasn’t going to be laughing. “See this guy with the Jack O’Lantern head -“

“The guy I told you not to go after.” 

“Yeah,” Peter snorted a chuckle, “I ended up going after him anyways, and don’t worry Mr. Stark! I caught him. He’s all taken care of. It’s a good thing too, because the guy was a mild psychopath. You don’t wanna know the stuff he was planning on doing.”

“I’m in the middle of a meeting.”

“Okay! Okay! So here’s what happened. So I’m fighting the Jack O’Lantern right? And he’s all like you’ll never stop me Spider-Man. And I’m all like, watch me. And so I use a bunch of webs and I ended up swinging all the way to Staten Island on my webs so by the time I caught him. My webs were all out. And I would have kindly asked the Staten Police if they could drive me home but then they would have known where Spider-Man lived, you know? And that would have been really bad.”

“You could have just started with I don’t have any webs left.” Tony mumbled. 

“I tried to swing with my natural webs but then my wrists started bleeding, so now I’m at the Rite-Aid buying band-aids and gauze,” 

_Grey hair._ This kid was going to give him grey hair. 

“and so I don’t have any money for an Uber or Taxi. So I was wondering, since Manhattan isn’t too far away, totally not as far away as Queens would be, if you could like maybe give me a ride. I’d really appreciate it, Mr. Stark. Really.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tony looked down at his watch. He had twenty minutes until the tedious meeting came to an end. Since he wasn’t paying attention in the first place, and Pepper was doing most the work, Tony figured he could spare some time and help the kid out.

“Alright fine. I’ll be there in forty minutes. Email me your location and don’t leave the store.”

“Got it, Mr. Stark. Thank you, thank you so much, I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can thank me later. For now, just stay put.”

“Got it, Mr. Stark. Will do.”

______________________

“You couldn’t stay put for forty minutes? Seriously? I know it’s no walk in the park, but with all this technology at your fingertips, you couldn’t have plopped on a movie and stayed in one spot? It was too hard for you, huh?”

Peter stumbled out of the fast-food joint, lugging a fat backpack behind him as he carried a chocolate frosty, straw between his teeth.

“Sorry, Mr. Stark.” He said, dropping the backpack into the backseat and slurping from his straw. “I got hungry.”

“I thought you didn’t have any money.” Tony said irritably.

“Not enough for a cab, but I had enough for a quick menu meal.” Peter replied, drinking the rest of his treat. “Do you want some of my fries?”

“No. I want you to tell me what part of ‘staying put’ you didn’t understand. Would you prefer a more direct approach next time?” Tony grumbled, snapping his sunglasses off his face. The sun was already setting, and he wouldn’t need them in a few minutes or so anyways. 

“Can I drive?” Peter asked as he opened the passenger door.

Tony shook his head, exasperated. 

“Please, Mr. Stark.”

“Absolutely not.”

“But -“

“No.” Tony drew the line. There was no way he was letting an inexperienced driver ride his brand new Bentley.

“Please. My Uncle promised he would teach me how to drive when I turned sixteen but he can’t do that anymore, and so Aunt May is trying in parking lots and stuff but I can tell she doesn’t like it, and I really just wanted to learn from someone who loved cars as much as Uncle Ben did. You have lots of cars, Mr. Stark. I remember seeing them. You must have a great appreciation for vehicles.”

Tony sighed, because well, shit. Here was this young teenager, just dying for some quality guy time with an adult that he admired. Tony should be honored, really. It was a kind thing for the kid to say.

“You know I love engineering.”

Peter nodded, big smile on his face.

“Okay, you can drive. But only for a little bit. We’re going to stop before merging onto the highway.”

______________________

“I told you to stop before merging onto the highway!” Tony shouted, as the pair stood in the flashing red and blue lights. 

Peter was shaking, and Tony really didn’t want to yell at him. He felt bad. It was the kid’s first accident after all, and he was doing so damn well before the merge.

It was really the other car’s fault anyways. He had the turn signal on like he was going to pull over but never did. It didn’t help that Peter gunned it, slamming his foot on the gas the second he saw the highway, but still. The other car should have pulled over.

“I’m - I’m so sorry, sir. Please, I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for the damages. May will be mad, but she’ll pay. I promise. I’ll work extra hard around the house for a month. I’ll find a job.”

“Hush, underoos. I already called my insurance company. They’re handling it. I’ll pay the other guy for any damage, and as for my own car, it doesn’t matter. I have a million of them.”

“But - But it was my fault. I should have to pay.”

For a second Tony’s vision blurred and he wasn’t looking at Peter anymore, but he was looking at his father. 

He was seventeen, leaning against his father’s hot rod, hugging his shoulders as his father stood on the side of the road next to a police car with his arms crossed. 

“M’sorry.” Tony mumbled, staring at his father’s shoes, a few feet away from the man. God, he will never forget those shoes. They were engraved in his mind forever. His father stepped forward, gesturing for him to get back in the car. 

“Stay there,” he said threateningly before turning his attention back to the officer. 

“Don’t worry sir. I assure you, he won’t _ever_ drive under the influence again. We’re going to have a _**nice long talk**_ about it at home. I’ll pay for the damage, just please don’t press charges on my son.”

Tony felt nauseous and he could tell it wasn’t from the liquor. He closed his eyes, and heard the car door slam shut, when he opened them, Peter was standing in front of him with those big wide _terrified_ brown eyes. 

“Don’t worry about it, Pete. I got it covered. Let’s get back on the road. I need to get you home. It’s already late.”

Peter nodded feverishly. “I’ll call May.” His voice wobbled, “And tell her I’ll be staying - staying out late. Sorry.”

“Just tell her you’re with me.” Tony said. “That will put her mind at ease.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad at you. Stop apologizing.”

“Sor - no! Wait. Sorry. Ahhh! I can’t stop.”

They got back in the car a few minutes later, and Tony couldn’t stand watching the kid tremble so badly.

“Hey, kid, it’s okay. Just a little dent. Come on, take it easy.”

“I’m horrible at driving.” Peter blurted.

“No you’re not.” Tony said, clasping a firm hand on his shoulder, and trying to gauge the teenagers eyesight. “You should’ve seen me as a kid. Oh man did I wreak my father’s car into pieces let me tell you.” Tony laughed fondly at the memory, though it wasn’t a pleasant one. “He was so mad... well, point is, you’re a way better driver than I was.”

“Really?” Peter looked at him with wide-hopeful eyes. 

“You better believe it.” 

He decided not to mention the part about driving while under the influence. He wanted to keep being a good influence on the kid, and mentors don’t talk about getting drunk to their pupils. 

“Wow. I’m better than you were at driving.”

“Alright, don’t rub it in.”

Peter started to relax, his shoulders loosening. “Can we listen to some music?”

“Go for it. But I’m not listening to any pop music. Play one of the old CDs I have in the glove compartment.”

“Hey AC/DC. I’ve heard of them. They’re like this _really old_ rock band.”

Tony cringed, but paid attention to the interstate, noting some fast-food exit signs and gas stations up ahead. 

“Just play the CD. I think you’ll like it, newborn.”

“Newborn?”

“If AC/DC is _**old**_ to you, then you must be a newborn infant.”

“Hey. I’m trying to relate here, Mr. Stark. It’s not my fault you were born during dinosaur times.”

Tony gripped the steering wheel tighter. Well at least Peter was back to his regular self. Though moments like this make Tony wonder if maybe his father did have it right after all. He took one look at the happy kid sitting next to him and knew his father had it wrong. 

“I’ve heard of one of their songs before on the radio. What was it called? Uh, Stairway to Heaven.” Peter babbled. 

“That’s Led Zeppelin.” Tony shouted, clutching the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. This kid. Oh man, this kid was going to be the death of him. 

“Ohhh. Then what’s that popular AC/DC song? The one about Heaven?”

“Hell. It’s called Highway to Hell.” Tony grunted.

“Why on earth would anyone listen to that while driving on the highway?”

“Put in the CD before I call one of my suits over here to knock some sense into you.”

Peter giggled. “Okay.”

They rode for another forty minutes before Tony saw a sign on the highway for the Capital Restaurant and his mind went back to his mother.

“Tony, this is the oldest restaurant in Inwood. It started as a coffee shop and turned into the best place on earth for delicious pumpkin pie. If you want to eat here, you need to behave yourself.”

She grabbed Tony’s hand and continued pulling him down the streets of Manhattan to do some window shopping.

Without even realizing it, Tony was pulling off the next exit and roaming the streets of Manhattan, trying to find Inwood. 

“Sir, what are we doing?”

“I wanna show you something, Pete. You’ll love it.”

The restaurant kept it’s late 1960s interior. Tony felt like he was standing in a blast from his past as he stared at the waitresses in the same uniforms and the same mustard colored stools.

He pulled Peter into a booth and pointed at the special on the board. “This place has the best pumpkin pie in the whole world.”

“Really?!” Peter’s eyes lit up and he whipped his head to look at the white board. “Can I have some?”

“That’s why I brought you here. We both need a little treat. Don’t you think?”

Peter nodded his head because Tony was, and he was smiling, but it seemed to falter.

“What’s up? You okay?”

Peter shrugged. “I - I don’t know if I deserve anything after what I did.”

“I thought we were over the whole car thing? I know I am.”

“I just - I feel bad.”

“It’s alright kid. Nothing to feel bad about. The only real crime here is if you don’t try this pumpkin pie with me.”

Peter nodded. “Okay. I’ll have some then.”

“Excellent. You’re gonna love it.”

Peter did. He ate three whole slices, and Tony ate two. They took the rest to go, and hopped back into the car. 

“Tell you what. We’re really close to a hotel. Would like like to sleep there for the night? Then tomorrow morning I’ll get you home in time for school?”

Peter nodded. “Let me text May. She already knows I’m with you, so I’ll just say I’m staying late.”

Tony nodded and whipped out his phone. “So there is a strip of hotels over here.” Tony made a pinching motion with his fingers to zoom in on his map on his iPhone. 

They decided to take an alternative route to avoid the achingly long heaps of traffic that would no doubt be heavy, because New York traffic never sleeps. They made great time with Tony’s alternative route. 

The nice hotel with a continental breakfast, clean bathroom and two huge king sized beds was just what Tony had in mind, but Peter seemed amazed. 

“WHOA! This room is huge. Wow, they have a mini fridge the size of my oven.”

Tony chuckled as Peter rushed around the room like a kid on Christmas morning checking out everything the room had to offer, including the free mints on the bed.

“Mr. Stark, they have a list of movies we can watch.”

“Yeah but you have to pay for half of them.”

“Oh.” Peter’s smile faltered for a split second but he slapped it back on. “That’s okay. We can watch Netflix on my laptop.”

“We?” 

“Yeah! We gotta have a movie night.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Is it a rule?”

Peter nodded vigorously. “Mhm. Every time I went to a hotel, which was not very often, but whenever I went as a kid, Ben would watch movies with me.”

“He was trying to keep you entertained.” Tony said softly. 

“True, I guess. But then it became like a tradition.”

Tony walked towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was thankful for the complementary wrapped in plastic toothbrushes that came with each room, just like the small bars of soap. 

“Out of curiosity, why did your Uncle travel?” Tony asked. 

“He was an investment banker. Not in a senior position though, so he didn’t travel as much. But sometimes work required him to go to the west coast. Luckily, since we live in New York, this is mainly where he was at. But every now and then I went to the west coast with him just because I didn’t want him to be gone so long. We had most of our vacations when he was working because they were paid for.”

“Really?” Tony asked with a mouthful of toothpaste. “I didn’t know your uncle was into finance.”

“Yeah... it’s a good thing he was too because without Uncle Ben’s income we would have had nothing. May didn’t get a job until later, mostly because she couldn't find any. A lot of people with big credentials come to New York. The job market is tough here. She didn’t go to college so she worked at a coffee shop until she finally landed a secretary position in the office.”

After spitting, Tony said, “Which bed do you want? The one by the window or the one by the door?” 

“By the window.” Peter said, leaping onto the bed. 

It was interesting. Tony had been having a lot of his own memories resurface during this trip, but right now, Peter seemed to be reliving on of his old memories too. He was staring out the window as if he were in a trance.

Knowing that the kid was deep in thought, Tony avoided asking anymore questions and instead finished using the bathroom before shutting the lights out and going to his own bed. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, returning from his deep haze. 

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for picking me up.”

Tony smiled. “Thanks for being good company.” 

Peter grinning, and slipped himself under the covers. He shifted until he was comfortable then closed his eyes. “Good night, Mr. Stark.”

“Good night, kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Was it a lame finish? Eh, maybe? But was it a cute story overall? That’s for you all to decide. Let me know if you liked it by dropping a Kudos or Comment. Thank you to everyone who read :) or even clicked on my story to maybe give it a try, but then realized this girl has no grammar checker and almost always has a ton of errors, so you’re like, I’m out. I understand. Either way, thank you for giving my stories a try. :)


End file.
